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Coaster brook trout Run in Michigan

Salvelinus fontinalis, lake-run brook trout — 11 Michigan rivers on this map carry a run of it, Lake Superior. 11 of them are inside a window as of 1 October 2026.

The coaster brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, is Lake Superior's own brook trout, and in Michigan it is a Superior fish and nothing else — 11 rivers, one lake. It is also the only one of these runs with a split calendar: the Sturgeon River in Baraga County at 41.3 corridor miles, the Big Iron at 24.6, the Trap Rock at 19.2 and the Salmon Trout at 18.4 carry a May–June window, while the Ontonagon at 23.7, the Two Hearted at 22.6, the Chocolay at 20.5, the Firesteel and the Tahquamenon at 16.4 each and the Anna at 7.6 carry September–October. The fish enters after ice-out and again to stage in autumn.

It shows as a brook trout off the lake: silvered flanks over the vermiculation, with the white-edged fins that give the species away whatever the colour of the fish. Twelve to twenty inches, and a fish over four pounds is a rare one. Nearly gone from the American shore by the 1960s, what runs now follows forty years of restriction and restocking, under catch-and-release rules that differ river by river.

Where these rivers are

11 run rivers on Lake Superior — the Michigan shore, each in the colour of its own run stage today.

Lake Superior — the Michigan shore11 run rivers on this shore, 11 inside a window today Peak run

Drawn 1 October 2026. The ground is the subbasin mesh the app scores in, so the coastline is where the mesh stops rather than a separate shoreline; the mark at each river is its mouth, drawn for every river including the handful whose whole run corridor is under a mile and has no line to show.

Where it runs, and when

Ranked by the rivers the staging estimator models first — the sixteen systems with a USGS temperature gauge behind them — then by corridor miles. Neither is a measure of fishing, and nothing on this page ranks a fishery.

RiverLakeWindowPeakMilesStage
Sturgeon River (Baraga County) Superior Sept–Oct Sep–Oct 41.3 Peak run
Big Iron River Superior Sept–Oct Sep–Oct 24.6 Peak run
Ontonagon River Superior Sept–Oct — 23.7 Tail-off
Two Hearted River Superior Sept–Oct — 22.6 Tail-off
Chocolay River Superior Sept–Oct — 20.5 Tail-off
Trap Rock River Superior Sept–Oct Sep–Oct 19.2 Peak run
Salmon Trout River Superior Sept–Oct Sep–Oct 18.4 Peak run
Firesteel River Superior Sept–Oct — 16.4 Tail-off
Tahquamenon River Superior Sept–Oct — 16.4 Tail-off
Anna River Superior Sept–Oct — 7.6 Tail-off
Falls River Superior Sept–Oct Sep–Oct 5.0 Peak run

Stage as of 1 October 2026. It moves every day and this page does not — current conditions are here.

Identification

A brook trout off the lake: silvered flanks over the vermiculation, with the white-edged fins that give the species away whatever the colour of the fish.

Size

Twelve to twenty inches, and a fish over four pounds is a rare one.

Behaviour in the river

A Lake Superior fish and a restoration story rather than a fishery. Enters after ice-out and again to stage in autumn.

Why it matters here

The coaster is Lake Superior's own brook trout and was nearly gone from the American shore by the 1960s. What runs these rivers now is the result of forty years of restriction and restocking.

Tackle and tactics

Regulations

Great Lakes tributary rules are not the inland trout rules, and they differ by river and often by reach. Michigan's regulation summary is here; the state's own guide is the regulation.

Coasters are a managed restoration fishery under special catch-and-release regulations on much of this shore, and the rules differ river by river. Read the state guide for the water you are on.

The rest of the run

Open the lake-run map →Every run river, with where the fish are holding today.Or get BirdTrout on the App Store